Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAP-kinases) are present as components of conserved cellular signal transduction pathways that have a variety of conserved members. MAP-kinases are activated by phosphorylation at a dual phosphorylation motif with the sequence Thr-X-Tyr (by MAP-kinase kinases), in which phosphorylation at the tyrosine and threonine residues is required for activity. Activated MAP-kinases phosphorylate several transduction targets, including transcription factors. Inactivation of MAP-kinases is mediated by dephosphorylation at this site by dual-specificity phosphatases referred to as MAP-kinase phosphatases. In higher eukaryotes, the physiological role of MAP-kinase signaling has been correlated with cellular events such as proliferation, oncogenesis, development and differentiation. Accordingly, the ability to regulate signal transduction via these pathways could lead to the development of treatments and preventive therapies for human diseases associated with MAP-kinase signaling, such as cancer.
Dual-specificity protein tyrosine phosphatases (dual-specificity phosphatases) are phosphatases that dephosphorylate both phosphotyrosine and phosphothreonine/serine residues (Walton et al., Ann. Rev. Biochem. 62:101-120, 1993). Several dual-specificity phosphatases that inactivate a MAP-kinase have been identified, including MKP-1 (WO 97/00315; Keyse and Emslie, Nature 59:644-647, 1992), MKP-4, MKP-5, MKP-7, Hb5 (WO 97/06245), PAC1 (Ward et al., Nature 367:651-654, 1994), HVH2 (Guan and Butch, J Biol. Chem. 270:7197-7203, 1995), PYST1 (Groom et al., EMBO J. 15:3621-3632, 1996) and others (see, e.g., WO 95/21923). Expression of certain dual-specificity phosphatases is induced by stress or mitogens, but others appear to be expressed constitutively in specific cell types. The regulation of dual-specificity phosphatase expression and activity is critical for control of MAP-kinase mediated cellular functions, including cell proliferation, cell differentiation and cell survival. For example, dual-specificity phosphatases may function as negative regulators of cell proliferation. It is likely that there are many such dual-specificity phosphatases, with varying specificity with regard to cell type or activation. However, the regulation of dual specificity phosphatases remains poorly understood and only a relatively small number of dual-specificity phosphatases have been identified.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved understanding of MAP-kinase signaling, and the regulation of dual-specificity phosphatases within MAP-kinase signaling cascades. An increased understanding of dual-specificity phosphatase regulation may facilitate the development of methods for modulating the activity of proteins involved in MAP-kinase cascades, and for treating conditions associated with such cascades. The present invention fulfills these needs and further provides other related advantages.